Kayla's story
by melissarxy1
Summary: This is a The Stand story. It introduces a character I will be using in my other The Stand story. Yet another revision. Reviews are greatly appriciated.


Kayla's Story  
  
My name is Kayla. I now have an adorable baby. They told me that if both parents are immune that the baby will be fine. After all Fran Goldsmith's baby Peter is okay. I want out of this town so bad. I know, it's supposed to be a good place. The Free Zone. What a laugh.  
  
Most of the people are nice but it's getting too crowded. Plus, I want to morn my baby's father in peace. Yes, he is dead. It was September third, I believe. It's been hard for me to keep track of dates now. I was seventeen when I arrived in the Free Zone. I came in with Larry's group.  
  
A year ago  
  
I woke up in a cold sweat. "Okay," I muttered. "That was one of the strangest dreams I had ever had." But it didn't go away once I was awake and sitting in my living room which was lit by candles. "What should I do?" I rested my head on my knees still feeling terrified.  
  
"Great and now I'm talking to myself." I curled up on my sofa. Soon I was once again asleep. This dream was calm and featured an old woman. I woke up at dawn. I stood and packed up some cans and bottles of water.  
  
I then got into my dad's old Ford Escort and began to drive. I drove all day only pausing for breakfast and lunch. I stopped that night breaking into a Sporting Good's store and stealing a tent. I put the tent up remembering how from the times my family had gone camping when I was little. The next day passed the same. I woke up early and packed up my car.  
  
I ate breakfast sitting on the hood. I then heard some singing. Feeling curious I followed the sound. A woman who looked maybe five years older than me was sitting at what looked like a gravestone, only it was in a back yard and the words were shakily written. Her black hair was shoulder length, it was styled so it fell a little in her brown eyes. She was singing a Phil Collins song.  
  
"How can you just walk away from me When all I can do is watch you leave 'Cause we shared the laughter and the pain And even shared the tears You're the only one who really knew me at all  
  
So take a look at me now 'Cause there's just an empty space There's nothin' left here to remind me Just the memory of your face  
  
So take a look at me now  
  
And there's just an empty space And you comin' back to me is against the odds And that's what I've gotta face"  
  
"Hello?" I called. She gasped and leapt up. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. And well to be quite honest you really freaked me out."  
  
"You're really standing there?" the woman asked.  
  
I laughed. "Yes." She ran over to me and hugged me.  
  
"You're not a serial killer or something are you?" the woman asked suddenly frightened.  
  
"No," I said.  
  
"Good," the woman said. "So what are you doing here?"  
  
"This is going to sound silly but I had this dream," I said.  
  
"The old lady?" she asked her eyes wide.  
  
"Yeah," I said surprised.  
  
"I had that dream and the other dream," she didn't go into detail nor did she have to. "I didn't think it was my imagination but I was afraid to go see. Is that where you're going?" I nodded.  
  
"Do you want to come with me?" I asked.  
  
"Yeah," she said. "I'm Sarah."  
  
"Kayla," I said. We shook hands. She walked back to the headstone. She kissed her fingers and laid them on the stone.  
  
"Goodbye love," she whispered. She followed me to my car not bothering to pack anything explaining that we could always take things from the stores. She never told me about who's grave we were sitting at and I never asked.  
  
A few days later  
  
We were sitting on the hood of my car and talking idly when we heard a man's voice. "Hello?" Sarah and I exchanged glances and slid off of the lid. A handsome man appeared. His hair was blond and his eyes were a light blue. "Thank God, I wasn't hearing things." He smiled at us as he approached. "Hi, I'm Patrick." Sarah and I exchanged glances.  
  
"I'm Sarah, this is Kayla," Sarah said. We both shook hands with the man. "We're going to Nebraska."  
  
"Really?" Patrick asked. "Do you mind if I tag a long?" That's how Sarah met Patrick the man she fell in love with.  
  
The next day  
  
"Hello?" a man called tapping on my window. I awoke with a start. Slowly I got out noticing that the group was armed. Guns were one thing that my group never took. Patrick and Sarah were already out. The man extended his hand. "Hi, I'm Larry," the man said with a friendly smile. "Your friends told me that you were heading to Nebraska, we were wondering if you'd like to come with us."  
  
"Can we?" Sarah asked. I was shocked. I wasn't used to any type of leadership. Personally it freaked me out. Plus I never understood how I became leader, I was 17 Sarah was 23, and Patrick was 21. It made no since to me. But I could see that this guy was the leader of this group. If I joined them I could stop having to lead my own group.  
  
"Sure," I said with a smile. That's how I met up with Larry's group. I found that all the people were friendly, except one woman, Nadine Cross, but I figured after what had occurred I couldn't blame anyone for not being friendly.  
  
A week later  
  
"Well we finally arrived," Sarah said. We went up the stairs shaking Mother Abigail's hands and telling her that we had dreamed of her. I felt such an instinctive love and trust for this woman that it confused me a little. I was always conservative, I never trusted people until they proved to me that they could be trusted. After a while some people already had me settled in an apartment. I laid down on the bed happy to have a simple bed to sleep on for the first time in months.  
  
The next night  
  
I was walking through the street introducing myself to people and just wanting to crawl into a hole. I had been a loner in high-school. This was unnerving to me. After a while I found myself walking along the track. After a few moments I began to run. Before the flu I used to run like this with my dog but she had died, right along with my family.  
  
But there was a problem with running at night when there's no power. You can't see a thing. I ended up running directly into a man knocking him over and landing on top of him. "I'm so sorry!" I helped the man up and brushed him off. "I am so clumsy. Are you okay?"  
  
It took me several moments to realize that he was laughing at me. He didn't make a sound but he was shaking softly as if from laughter. "Hey!" I exclaimed as if offended I put my hands on my hips. He held up his hands as if surrendering but he was still smiling. He began to walk away and turned back motioning for me to follow him. Feeling confused I followed.  
  
He led me into the press-box. It was lit by a small lantern. "Okay, um, hi," I said sitting on one of the stools. "I'm Kayla." I waited for him to speak and studied him. His light brown hair fell into his blue eyes slightly as he fumbled around in his pocket for something, a tablet. His face showed healing bruises and a cut lip. He was also wearing an eye patch. Despite these imperfections he was very cute. I cocked my head to one side feeling confused as to why he wasn't saying anything. He wrote in the tablet for a few moments then handed it to me.  
  
"My name's Nick," the note read. "I'm a deaf-mute, so don't think that I'm ignoring you."  
  
"Okay," I said handing him back the tablet. "If you don't mind me asking: what happened to you?" Again the silent laugh. "That was a little forward wasn't it? Sorry." He began writing again. He handed me the note.  
  
"I got beat up by a bunch of guys in Shoyo. They robbed me." I handed him back the note.  
  
"The jerks," I said raising my head. He laughed again. "So, what were doing in Shoyo?"  
  
"You ask a lot of questions," he wrote. I laughed quietly.  
  
"I know. I've been told that. Sorry."  
  
"Stop apologizing," he admonished in the next note. "At first I was working there, helping around a farm. Then when the flu came a sheriff deputized me to help at the jail since he was sick."  
  
"So you were in law enforcement?"  
  
He shrugged. "Kind of."  
  
"Cool. So what'd you do for a living?"  
  
"Odd jobs. I didn't have a career. What about you?"  
  
"High School."  
  
He looked at me surprised. "How old are you?"  
  
"I'm seventeen." He started slightly when I said that. I cocked my head to one side not quite understanding why. "And you?"  
  
"Twenty-two." Both of us were surprised. I was younger than he thought I was and he was older that I had thought. He didn't write that but I could see a look of faint disappointment on his face. Conversation lagged for a few moments. "It's late, can I walk you home?" I nodded surprised.  
  
"The last time a guy offered to walk me home he tried to get to second base on my front porch." He laughed again. He wrote in his next note, a little messily because we were walking, to tell him about my past life. He watched my face raptly as I talked. "Well I lived in a small town with my parents. My family was normal: mom, dad, and dog.  
  
"I didn't really have any friends. The kids in school all teased me `cause of how I dressed. My parents couldn't afford the latest fashions so I wore clothes from the Salvation Army. Or hand-me-downs from my cousins. But then the flu came and I had to stop going to school because my parents were some of the first one's to catch it. I cared for them the best that I could.  
  
"It was when Autumn died that I knew how bad it was." At his confused look I continued. "My dog. My dad died June 30th. My mom died a week later." My story wasn't unusual. I knew this because all of the people I was traveling with swapped stories. I didn't very often because it was just too painful for me. I had been close to both of my parents. Losing then hurt a lot.  
  
We walked up the stairs of the apartment building. I stopped at my door. "Well this is my stop." Impulsively I kissed him on the cheek. "Thanks for walking me home." I went into my room smiling at his look of shock. I slept well that night, for the first time since Captain Tripps.  
  
The next day  
  
I met with Sarah for lunch in the park. I saw Nick with a small group of men including one tall blond man who was staring off into the distance. Nick wasn't wearing his eye patch and his eye was badly messed up. "There's part of the Committee," Sarah told me. "I think it's Stuart Redman, Glenn Bateman, Ralph something, and Nick Andros. The big guy came in with Nick he's Tom Cullen, I think he's mentally retarded."  
  
"I met Nick last night," I told Sarah. "We talked." I paused considering what I had just said then tried again. "Well, not literally because he can't but we, um communicated."  
  
"Communicated," Sarah smiled. "I think that's the biggest word I ever heard you use." I stuck my tongue out at her. I looked over at the men and Nick noticed me. He smiled and winked at me with his good eye. I smiled back and waved lightly. Sarah looked at me raising her eyebrows.  
  
"What?" I asked.  
  
She smirked. "You like him don't you?"  
  
"No!" I exclaimed. She gave me a look. "Okay, maybe a little." I smiled slightly as I looked at the guys who were deep in conversation. Nick was hurriedly writing. "But you gotta admit, he is cute."  
  
"Mmm. maybe a little," Sarah admitted. "Not as cute a Patrick." I rolled my eyes.  
  
"No one is as cute as Patrick in your eyes," I said.  
  
August 18, after the Free Zone Meeting  
  
"You want to come over for a cup of coffee?" Sarah asked as we left.  
  
"That's all right," I said. "I'm pretty tired." I actually had no plans for going to bed but I felt depressed and didn't want to be around anyone. Being around all those people, seeing all the couples. It was sort of depressing but in a good way. Besides, I could see Patrick waiting for Sarah.  
  
"Okay," Sarah said. "I'll see you tomorrow."  
  
"Bye," I said and walked away. I ended up on the track, I walked to the top and laid down on the bleachers. A few minutes later someone shook my shoulder. I sat up seeing Nick. "Hi."  
  
He handed me a note which read: "What are you doing out here?"  
  
"I wanted to be alone," I said honestly.  
  
"Do you want me to go?"  
  
"Oh no! I just didn't want to be around a large group. I like to be alone sometimes. But I really don't mind you being here." Great, I thought. How obvious can you get? He smiled as he sat down beside me. "The stars seem so bright lately," I mused looking up at the sky.  
  
He took my chin making me look at him. "I forgot, sorry," I said. He lightly rolled his eyes. "I know I need to stop apologizing." He was studying me. "What?" My question was answered when he leaned towards me kissing me.  
  
His lips easily mastered mine. I was surprised by just how good he was. I opened my mouth giving him access. He slowly slipped his tongue into my mouth and I moaned very quietly as his caressed mine. I slipped my arms around his neck. He lowered me onto the bleachers still kissing me.  
  
"Mmm." I started to pull away but didn't when I felt Nick's hand travel up my thigh. I never wanted this to end. After a few moments I said what I really didn't want to. "Nick, we shouldn't do this, at least not here." He nodded pulling away. We were still in the same position with him kneeling between my legs. Some voices caught our attention and he stood helping me to my feet.  
  
"Hey Nick!" a man called. "That you?" Two men walked up the bleachers. One wore a straw hat the other was the big blond guy that I had seen. Nick sighed seeming upset by the interruption but nodded motioning for the men to sit down. They did so on the bleachers in front of us. "Hello," the man said. "I'm Ralph Brentner. This is Tom Cullen."  
  
"Hello," I said extending a hand which both men shook in turn. Tom seemed very shy as he took my hand. I smiled at the two men. "I'm Kayla." I was relieved that we were interrupted. Our relationship was about to take a big turn I wasn't sure if I was ready for.  
  
"What are you doing up here?" Nick asked in a note which Ralph read.  
  
"Well we were heading home and Tom forgot where home was," Ralph said.  
  
"It looks so different at night, laws yes," Tom said.  
  
"I haven't been to Tom's yet so I figured that you'd know," Ralph said. Nick's rolled eyes stated plainly: 'of course' but he was smiling. They all stood. Nick gave me a questioning look but I shook my head.  
  
"I'll see you," I said standing. He nodded and began to walk down the stairs. He turned back at the exit of the track. I blew him a kiss and he grinned.  
  
August 25  
  
I was lying in front of the press-box. I saw Nick walking up the bleachers. "Nick?" He glanced at me. I sat up once seeing his blue eyes. They looked so haunted. "Nick, what's wrong?" He didn't make any motion to respond at all. He simply sat staring into the distance. "Nick?" I touched his arm and he looked at me. "Please, what happened?" He took out his tablet and began writing.  
  
He handed two small pages to me and I read them. "I'm sorry but I cannot tell you what's going on. It's committee business. All I can say is that I've done something that I feel I will probably regret for my entire life. Please, don't ask about it. Just hold me."  
  
I was very confused but pulled Nick into my arms. He was shaking. I was still confused but held him rubbing his back with one hand and running my other through his hair. He laid his head on my shoulder and I felt that he was crying. This scared me and confused me even further. He pulled away looking into my eyes. "It'll be okay," I felt sort of stupid saying that since I had no clue if it was true but it seemed to comfort him a little.  
  
He wrote a quick note which simply read: "I hope you're right."  
  
Five days later  
  
Nick and I met at the press-box nearly every night. We didn't kiss after that first night though. But I still felt as though I was falling in love with him. Finally August 30th I decided to show him. He was walking me home. When we reached my door he started to leave as he usually did but I reached out taking his hand. He turned back to me seeming surprised.  
  
"Do you want to come inside?" I asked. He studied my face a few seconds before nodding. We entered my barely decorated apartment. He looked at me calmly waiting for me to say something. Throwing caution to the wind I stepped over to him stood on my tip-toes kissing him. He lowered his head returning the kiss passionately. He slipped his arms around my waist pulling me tightly against him. I slowly slipped my arms around his neck.  
  
Nick lifted me up slightly and I wrapped my legs around him. He smiled as he carried me into the next room. My bedroom.  
  
Later we laid together both spent. His hand moved idly up and down my arm. "I love you," I whispered against his chest as sleep began to overtake us. I knew he couldn't hear me or see my lips move due to our positions but I figured that perhaps it was better like that. Better that he didn't know how deeply I had fallen for him.  
  
A few days later  
  
I was once again sitting in front of the press box at night watching the stars coming out. I heard something and leapt up, Nick was slowly walking up the stairs. He wasn't wearing the eye patch and I winced slightly seeing how badly his eye was still injured. It looked better than it had the last time that I had seen it but it was still pretty bad. He sat next to me. "Hey," I said turning so he could read my lips. He smiled. "You know you never told me about your journey here. I talked about mine but." I trailed off and shrugged slightly. He soft of cringed at this but took out his notebook. He wrote in it for a few minutes then handed it to me.  
  
"I was alone for a while," the note began. "I began to think I was the only survivor. Then one day while I was on my way here I met Tom. Met meaning I thought he was dead, he moved and I nearly killed myself on the bike I was riding. Well, I took him with me when I left, I couldn't bring myself to leave him. It was hard, me a deaf mute, him mentally retarded, I couldn't talk and he couldn't read. It was an interesting match.  
  
"We traveled to a small town when Tom got. sick. There we met Julie Lawry." Here he had started to write something but had crossed it out. I looked over the crossed out words trying to read them but it was no use. I continued to read the rest of what he had written. "Julie, was, to put it in simple terms, not playing with a full deck. She told Tom that the medicine I got him was poison. I lost my temper and hit her, she attacked me, I told her that we didn't need her. She then tried to kill Tom and I." At this I glanced up at him shocked by that.  
  
"A few days later we met Ralph and didn't have to ride the bikes anymore. He also 'introduced' Tom and I. A few days later we picked up Dick. Then little Gina. A while after that we picked up June and Olivia. Then we met Mother Abagail in Hemingford Home."  
  
"Well," I said after finishing the note. "Not too descriptive but it works." I turned to him. "This part you scribbled out, what did it say?" For the first time I saw his cheeks get a little red. Sensing that he wasn't going to tell me I looked hard at the note again, trying to read it. He took the note from me. "Hey!" I cried indignantly.  
  
He handed me another note which read: "You don't want to know, even if you do, I don't want to talk, or even think about it." I considered that for a moment before realizing what had transpired.  
  
"You and Julie-" he placed a finger to my lips to cut me off. He removed his finger after a second. "In the drug store?" He rolled his eyes at my complete shock and nodded slowly. "But there aren't any-" I paused as the realization of that sank in. "On the floor?" Now he began laughing. "You're laughing at me." He looked at me trying to sober himself and nodded.  
  
I hit him in the shoulder half-heartedly then pouted. "That's not nice," I told him. He barely kept himself from laughing again. He started to kiss me but I placed my hand on his chest to stop him. "Hey, I should be mad at you!" He raised an eyebrow. "I found out about your um, liaison with this Julie person and then you laughed at me, and-" His lips silenced mine. He pulled away after a moment.  
  
"Unfair," I whispered. "Completely unfair." He smiled. He knew that I couldn't resist his kisses. He had discovered that a while ago. We haven't even known each other for a month and he already found my biggest weakness when it came to him.  
  
I moved closer to him laying my head on his shoulder and watching the stars as they came out. He slipped his arm around my waist. It still amazed me how completely at home I felt in his arms. My very few previous relationships were always awkward. I had never felt as at ease as I did with Nick. Then again, I had also not loved any of them. Impulsively I pulled away to look at him. He turned to me seeming surprised. "Nick, I love you."  
  
There was silence for a moment. I hadn't expected him to repeat those words but the silence was about to drive me insane. He leaned forward and kissed me deeply. I slipped my tongue past his lips surprising him. He then smiled holding me tighter. I moved to straddle his legs.  
  
I pulled away looking into his eyes. He reached out gently touching my face. I then buried my head in his shoulder unable to explain, even to myself, the fear I felt at that moment. I took a deep breath breathing in his sent, the soft sent of his cologne, Old Spice, and a smell that was all his, leather and nature mixing together. A smell that I would one day catch in the air which would cause nostalgia, and a deep loneliness.  
  
A few days later  
  
We spent most of the nights we had left together. I think now that it's possible that we knew. We would meet at the press-box and sit together watching the stars. Then we would leave, go back to my house and make-love until dawn. I slowly began to understand him without needing to read his notes. Then, too soon, that fateful night came.  
  
We had gone through our usual routine and we were laying together on my bed. He wrote a quick note. "The meeting is tonight. I'll have to leave soon."  
  
"I know," I raised my head so he could read my lips. He kissed me. I smiled laying my head back on his chest. An hour or so later he stood up slipping on his pants. I had this crazy urge to beg him not to go. At least I thought it was crazy.  
  
He put on his shirt and sat at the edge of the bed as he put his shoes on. I sat up a little. He turned back feeling the bed move. I smiled at him. Nick sighed and kissed me once more. He stood but paused before leaving.  
  
He quickly wrote something and walked back to me. He kissed me again slowly and placed the note in my hand. He then began to walk away. The urge to beg him to stay came back. But I didn't. That fact will haunt me forever.  
  
Once he had gone I read the note he had given me. "I love you," was all that it said. I closed my eyes feeling unexplainable tears building in them. I would never see Nick again, at least not really.  
  
The next morning  
  
"Kayla!" I heard Sarah yell. I got up still feeling groggy. "Kayla open the door!" Where was Nick? I thought as I got dressed. I thought he'd be back. I opened the door and Sarah walked in. "God, it's so horrible." She looked at my confused expression. "Hasn't anyone told you?"  
  
"Told me what?" I was having trouble being patient.  
  
"Susan Stern, Chad, and some other people are dead," Sarah told me.  
  
"What happened?" I asked.  
  
"There was a bomb in Ralph's house," she informed me.  
  
"Ralph's house?" I asked thinking about the meeting and the people in it. "What about Fran?"  
  
"She's hurt but she and her baby are fine," Sarah said but she didn't look at me.  
  
"Sarah, what aren't you telling me?" I asked apprehensively. She didn't respond. I think that I knew then what she didn't want to tell me but I didn't want to believe it. Sarah had been the only one that I had told about Nick and I. "Sarah?"  
  
"It's Nick," Sarah told me still not looking at me. "He was still in the house."  
  
"No," I whispered.  
  
"He's dead Kayla," she said. "I'm sorry that I had to tell you this but-"  
  
"No," I repeated sounding sure. "He's not dead. He can't be."  
  
"Kayla, please," Sarah said. I walked past her.  
  
"He's not dead," I said calmly. I walked onto the street. The streets seemed awfully empty. I walked down the sidewalk to Ralph's house once there I dropped onto my knees. Sarah came up beside me slipping an arm around my shoulders. I leaned against her sobbing.  
  
The scene was horrible. There was blood and what looked body parts. I realized suddenly that any of them could be Nick's. Sarah pulled me up leading me back to her house. She had moved in with Patrick. He was very nice but I was happy that he was out. I laid down on resting my head on Sarah's lap. She ran a hand through my hair as I cried.  
  
A month later  
  
I heard that Mother Abigail was back. This scared me for reasons that I'm still not positive about. The meeting we had after the explosion was practically anarchy. Everyone sensed it. I nearly left or said something when Sheldon nominated Ted Frampton but Stu took care of that. It was this night that I decided to leave the Free Zone but what happened the morning that I was prepared to leave the apartment changed my choice, at least for a while.  
  
That morning I woke up feeling nauseous. I ran into the bathroom and got sick in the toilet. I crawled back into bed. I was pretty sure that I knew already what was wrong with me. I figured that I was pregnant but I wasn't positive yet, I didn't want to believe it because I wanted out of the Free Zone. I rubbed a hand over my stomach.  
  
"I don't know if I can do this little one," I confided to my unborn baby. "I'm scared. And I'm lonely. I miss Nick, your father so much. I hate the thought of you growing up without a father. I considered suicide before but now, I couldn't do that. I don't think I could have before. I just miss him so much."  
  
I found that I had been shaking. I closed my eyes and soon fell asleep. I awoke, or thought that I awoke a few minutes later. I was still in my room but it was lighter than it should have been since my blinds were closed. I sat up looking for the source of the light and then it faded. I looked around then my breath caught in my throat. "Nick?" I asked softly.  
  
"Hello Kayla," Nick said approaching. His voice was soft and beautiful.  
  
"How?" was all that I could ask, I'm not sure if I was asking how he was able to talk or how he was able to be here.  
  
"Call it magic," he smiled answering both questions. He sat down at the edge of the bed. "I can't stay, but I was asked to relay a message. You can't leave yet."  
  
"Why?" I asked.  
  
  
  
"Trust me," he said with a tender smile. I did.  
  
"How long can you stay?" I asked.  
  
"Not too long," he said. "I can stay until you wake up." I looked up at him and he smiled. "God is giving us private time." I returned his smile. "You were right Kayla, you are pregnant. Our baby is going to be a girl." He tenderly touched my stomach softly caressing it. "She'll have your beautiful black hair and my eyes. She'll look more like you than me." He chuckled and I discovered how much I liked his laugh. "That's probably a good thing. And she'll be able to talk and hear."  
  
"How do you know so much?" I asked.  
  
"I can see it in your eyes," he said with a smile. I smiled back. One thing hadn't changed since he was gone, I still couldn't help but smile when he smiled at me.  
  
"Nick," I said. "I love you." He kissed me moving closer and laying me on the bed. He pulled away making a vague hand motion and both of us were unclothed. "Okay, that's a cool trick."  
  
"One I would only use with you," he promised kissing me again. His lips ran down my neck and then down my stomach. "Now," he whispered huskily. "I can tell you all the things I never got a chance or the ability to say. Kayla, you are so beautiful. And I love you."  
  
"I missed you," I told him. His arm ran lightly up and down my side.  
  
"I'm always with you," he told me. "I know how trite that sounds but it's true. I'll be holding your hand when you give birth to our daughter. I'll be beside you when you first place our child in her crib. I'll be lying beside you on those lonely nights. I'll be there whenever you need me." I fell asleep in his arms for the last time.  
  
Present day  
  
I felt myself going into labor. Well this is great, I thought. So I stood up and sort of hobbled over to the door. I then preceded to drive myself to the hospital. I got out and walked to the door. "Nick," I muttered. "If you weren't lying now would be a good time to prove it." The doors opened as I approached, only, the automatic doors weren't working yet. We still haven't been able to get them online.  
  
"Hello," a plump but kindly looking woman said with a smile. "May I help you?"  
  
"A gun might be nice," I said leaning against the wall. "But since that isn't possible could you find a doctor to get her out of me?"  
  
The woman nodded looking subdued and called over the intercom. "Paging Dr. Lanthrop. Please report to the front desk." A few moments later he came in. He saw me and smiled.  
  
"Kayla isn't it?" Dr. Lanthrop asked. I nodded weakly. "What seems to be the problem?"  
  
I winced as another contraction hit. "I stubbed my toe," I gasped. "What do you think?" Dr. Lanthrop laughed and brought out a wheelchair. I sat down as he wheeled me into a room. A nurse helped me get into a hospital gown.  
  
Once I laid down and began to push the pain was excruciating. But I felt something warm on my right hand as if someone were holding it. Only the right side of the bed had been pushed against the wall due to the other three beds that had been put in the room because of Captain Trips. Before I really even noticed this I heard a cry. My baby. Dr. Lanthrop handed her to me. I looked down in her eyes, so blue.  
  
"They'll probably change, they almost look green and that's your color," Dr. Lanthrop told me as I looked at the perfect little girl I held.  
  
"They won't," I said convinced. He looked at me surprised but nodded.  
  
George Richardson came into the room. "I hear we have a new birth."  
  
"Yep," Dr. Lanthrop said.  
  
"Do you have a name?" the other doctor asked me.  
  
"Yes," I said. "Nicole Andrea." Dr. Richardson looked surprised. The surprise grew when he looked down at my daughter, at the color of her eyes.  
  
"It fits," he told me. I think he knew.  
  
A week later at night  
  
I walked into my house taking Nicole home for the first time. I was exhausted. I had spent a week rushing around making sure that everything was perfect. I knew from the other new mothers that this exhaustion would only grow, but I was ready. I put Nicole into the crib. "Welcome home little one," I said and went to my bed across the room.  
  
As I fell asleep I swear I saw the silhouette of a man standing over Nicole's crib. I fell asleep knowing that she would be safe. 


End file.
